Hotel Molinillos

The restaurant service was terrible.

By the next day, everyone from our Christmas Eve dinner had gastroenteritis. Something seems to have gone wrong. The meal itself was awful: portions were tiny from the beginning, and halfway through we were told there was no more wine after just three bottles for more than 15 people. The pork cheeks arrived cold and tough with packaged fries. When we asked, the waiter claimed the fries were hand-cut and homemade, though he didn't seem to believe it himself. Dessert wasn't much better, one slice was only cake crust. I said we didn't want it and asked for a replacement.

The kitchen turned what began as a lovely family meal into an experience we probably won't repeat. We were 10 people at La Vega, the hotel restaurant. The place itself was bright, clean, spacious, nicely decorated, and beautifully renovated. The waiters were polite, attentive, and very patient through a difficult service. Around eight tables were occupied, with roughly four to six people at each. We ordered two starters and a main for everyone at 2:45 pm. At 3:30, after waiting patiently, we complained about the delay and asked them to bring a flamenquín for one child with special needs, since it was time for him to eat. It came out raw, so we sent it back to be cooked. Everyone's food arrived 50 minutes after ordering, and the flamenquín came even later. Some dishes were very good: the Russian salad with prawn pil-pil sauce, braised pork cheeks, and cod were all exquisite. The scrambled eggs with mushrooms and foie gras, though, were inedible, with far too much onion, almost raw foie gras, and a soupy texture from being undercooked. The Galician blonde beef entrecote we asked to have medium-rare was overcooked, and I doubt it was even Galician blonde beef. The waiters didn't know what to say to apologize, and it was an unpleasant experience for them too, especially for someone working in hospitality. They kindly gave us dessert and coffee on the house as an apology. That was a nice gesture, but the kitchen spoiled the meal.

After another similar visit, I really should have listened to myself when I said I wouldn't come back. This time they took ages, brought me the wrong dish, then checked more than half an hour later to see if we needed anything. I left without eating. They offered dessert to make up for it, which was unbelievable. Honestly, going back was my own fault.